やりかけ

や

り

か

け

Meanings

1

unfinished; in progress; half-done

usually written using kana alone

Describes something started but not yet completed; often used with nouns like 仕事, 宿題, or ゲーム.

やりかけの仕し事ごとがまだ机つくえの上うえにある。
The unfinished work is still on the desk.
やりかけのゲームをセーブしてから寝ねた。
I saved the game in progress and then went to bed.

See all 9 example sentences ›

Kanji

遣dispatch, despatch, send
掛hang, suspend, depend

Related words

未み完かん成せい
未完成 is a more formal, Sino-Japanese word for 'incomplete' or 'unfinished', often used for projects, works of art, or systems. やりかけ is casual and concrete, referring to tasks or activities left midway.
途と中ちゅう
途中 means 'on the way' or 'in the middle of' and can be used for both physical journeys and ongoing actions. やりかけ specifically emphasizes that the action was started but not finished, and is often used as a noun modifier.

Written forms

やりかけUsage100%
Usually written in kana; the kanji form 遣り掛け exists but is rare.
遣やり掛かけ
Kanji form is uncommon; learners will almost always encounter the kana spelling.

Etymology

Compound of the continuative form of やる (to do) and かけ (from 掛ける, indicating an action begun but not completed). The kanji 遣り掛け is rarely used.